The day after Thanksgiving last week, I was asked by my mother-in-law to drop by the grocery store and get some Cool-Whip. Brian (my son) really likes banana pudding, and she wanted to make him some for our leftovers meal. No problem, I can go get that. The closest grocery store was a Piggly Wiggly (yes, it’s actually called that), so I hopped in my car and drove down the street. After wandering around for a little bit, I finally found the tub and headed to the checkout lines.
When I got there, the lady in front of me was getting her things onto the belt to check out. She had her three younger kids with her (I’d say 3, 5, and 8 maybe), and they were testing her patience a bit. As a parent, you can always tell. But then, an amazing thing happened. She turned to the checkout lady and said, “I’ve got his Cool-Whip, too”. Not really understanding fully, I asked “Are you sure?”. She responded “It’s no problem at all. Please.” I didn’t exactly know how to act (or react), so I allowed the checkout lady to take the tub and scan it. As a small favor, I helped her bag the groceries. I mean, it was the least I could do. As we walked out, I told her thank you again and said, “Happy Thanksgiving”.
I drove back to my mother-in-law’s house and relayed what had happened at the grocery store. She lit up (as she does) and said “Oh my goodness, that’s so nice. She was definitely in the spirit.” I agreed with her and we turned to do other things. But then I heard her say from behind me, “Now you pay it forward.”
That was last week. And I still haven’t forgotten that lady’s generosity. I just got back from lunch today, where it was relatively slow. I was able to take notice of each and every customer/group that came in. As I was finishing my own lunch, I saw one particular group of 3. They were all serving in the U.S. military (Sorry, I don’t know how to tell by their uniforms), and suddenly my mother-in-law’s words came back to me. I know what I was going to do.
I called the waitress over and asked for her help in paying for their meal. I didn’t specifically want them to know it was me, so I had waited until they had ordered everything. She brought the bill, I signed off, and I was good to go. They wouldn’t have any idea. They’d just know someone had paid for their meal. It was my own “thank you” to them for their service.
And I have to tell you, it felt wonderful.
So much so that it left a smile on my face as I walked out. The hostess said “have a nice day” as I opened the door to walk out of the restaurant, and I returned the favor. Mission accomplished.
I got halfway to my car and I heard someone behind me say “Sir? Sir?” I turned around to see if they were talking to me. He was. One of the 3 had walked outside to flag me down. One of the others was standing next to the held-open front door. Her hands were resting over her heart. The gentleman who had flagged me down was almost running toward me at this point. He got to me and pulled me into an enormous hug. “Thank you"s and “That was very kind of you. So very kind!“s fell from his lips as he hugged me.
It was one of the best feelings in the world. True appreciation.
As I hugged him back, I said “thank you” right back to him. And when we finally let go of each other, I held my own hands over my heart and mouthed “thank you” to the lady at the door. True appreciation right back to them.
Never miss your opportunity to pay it forward. You will be rewarded more than you know.
